alcohol and smoking (cigarettes, cigars or pipes) or using ‘smokeless’ tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco): significantly contribute to the development of head and neck cancer. This is especially true for cancers of the mouth, throat and larynx (voice box). Those who smoke and drink a lot of alcohol are at a much higher risk compared with those who only use either alcohol or smoking alone

infection with HPV (human papillomavirus): may contribute to the development of head and neck cancer, particularly those involving the tonsils or tongue base. The cancers in the tonsil and tongue base are usually small and difficult to detect, but have the ability to spread to enlarged lymph nodes in the neck and account for many cancers of unknown primary

​sun exposure: contributes to skin cancer, the most common type of cancer in Australia. Patients with skin cancer often have had many primary cancers treated making it difficult to know whether a cancer in a lymph node has come from a skin cancer or not